Software applications and/or services are commonly offered to consumers in the form of grouped packages or suites, in which two or more such applications are provided. A suite is generally provided at a lower cost than if the individual applications included therein were purchased separately. In addition, a software suite typically includes an assortment of related and/or interoperable applications or services targeted to satisfy the software needs of a particular type of customer, such as small businesses or other types of organizations. Different application suites may thus be provided to satisfy various market needs, where certain segments of software consumers commonly require more than one application or service.
It is common to install the various applications of a suite onto one or more interconnected computers. However, if the applications are not installed in a proper sequence and with a proper dependency for the installed components, there is an increased likelihood of errors occurring during installation. When an error occurs, the user typically must exit the current installation, correct the error identified, and reinitiate the installation procedure. This dilemma increases in situations where the installation includes multiple machines.
An organization may include several servers physically located at different locations, e.g., one server at a corporate central office, with additional servers located at remote locations. The particular application and/or services that are installed at the different machines in the organization may vary as a function of the type of organization and the performance objectives of the administrator that implements the installation. By way of example, assume that a large suite of applications is to be installed across several machines in the organization. If interdependent applications are not properly installed, an administrator may be required to exit the installation resolve each interdependency issue that arises during installation prior to continuing with the installation, thereby adding undesirable time to the installation process.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system and method to generate an installation procedure that may be followed to mitigate installation errors and to facilitate the installation of selected components.